Readers: Win The Secret Atlas of North Coast Food The Tap loves restaurant tips from readers, so we’re awarding a copy of “The Secret Atlas of North Coast Food” to the best tipster of September and October. July / August Winner: Jeremy Banks Eat Street Buddha Kitchen and Lounge (Opens Sep. 30) 2550 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis The spirit of Azia lives on — at the end of this month, a new Asian fusion, sushi-slinging would-be hotspot called the Eat Street Buddha Kitchen and Lounge will open up at Nicollet and 26th St. Executive Chef Grant Halsne (above) comes to Buddha with a background to match his mandate: training at Stella’s Fish Cafe should put him in the mindset to sling fresh oysters (Buddha hopes to offer two each of East and West Coast varieties), and his time spent at 20.21 at the Walker should prep him for the sort of high-end showmanship that helps a fusion place distinguish itself amid a sea of rivals. Within a few moments of chatting, Halsne was talking about sourcing fish: “We’re excited about using Skuna Bay salmon — it’s fresh, but it’s sushi grade — they put a parasite-destruction [additive] in the feed so you can serve it fresh without freezing it, so it has a velvety texture.”

Noodles will play a role at Buddha, and for those dishes Halsne had a lucky strike: “We locally sourced our noodles from a company called Canton,” he says, referring to the South Minneapolis company across the street from Everett’s Meats. “They’re making all of our noodles from scratch — our chow fun noodles, our pad thai noodles, our ramen noodles. sushi jena online bestellenTo be able to get fresh Asian-style noodles in Minnesota… jiro dreams of sushi dallasI never thought, you know?”jiro dreams of sushi london cinema Dumplings will play a role at Buddha, too, during its weekend brunch. buy suzumo sushi machine

“We’re doing some dim sum — a limited menu of probably six items,” says Halsne. “We’re doing all house-ground meat and rolling [the dumplings] ourselves. We’re putting extra effort into them. And we’ll offer things like a bulgogi Benedict, or a crabcake Benedict with lemongrass Hollandaise.” Los Angeles-trained sushi chef Tony Gambucci says that his California pedigree will be an asset behind the sushi bar at Buddha. sushi grade fish santa cruz“I’m trying to bring some of that West Coast influence back here,” he says. jiro dreams of sushi boston“When I’m back on the West Coast I see a lot of stuff there I don’t see here, whether it’s plating [techniques] or unique rolls and sashimi offerings…”yo sushi menu alameda

“When you come in here, you’ll try rolls you haven’t tried anywhere else,” he adds. “Our Buddha roll (above) is very different. It’s filled with crab and halibut and rolled in nori, and then wrapped in salmon and topped with spicy scallops and roasted garlic aioli, and then I bake it — the presentation is amazing, and it tastes great.” Gambucci is also a visual artist, a talent he deploys while plating his dishes, using sauces to paint pictures and enhance the visual impact of his food. “You can get a California roll anywhere, but they way it’s plated can really play on your perception of taste,” he says. Minnesota Cheese Festival (Sep. 14-15) Minnesota State Fair Grounds, St. Paul The Minnesota Cheese Festival is back for another year of cheese and conversation, bringing together more than 15 cheesemakers at the Minnesota State Fair grounds. Festival founder Whitney McChane (above) was confronted with hordes of cheese-hungry guests last year, a situation that led to unwieldy lines and social media backlash against the event.

This year, she says, it’ll be different: a two-day, two-session-per-day format will help spread the crowds out and help guarantee access to samples, demonstrations, and more. “We took a look at what contributed to that and restructured the format of that event, not only to avoid the long lines, but also to increase the quality of the event for the attendees — so we could cater more directly to the Minnesota cheese lover,” she says. Cheese lovers should be particularly excited about the still brand-new (and currently Kickstarting) Redhead Creamery of Brooten, MN, McChane says. “They’ll be there with their cheddars and cheese curds. I’ve tried their cheddars and they’re absolutely spectacular, and it’s so exciting to try out Minnesota’s first artisanal cheddar cheese.” She also raves up the new offering from Alemar Cheese, Good Thunder. “It’s a washed rind cheese that pairs well with so many things,” she says. “As we were going through and figuring out our pairing demonstration, we were hard-pressed to find something we didn’t LOVE with Good Thunder.”

Beyond cheese samples, the event will feature cooking demonstrations, workshops, seminars on dairy farming, a booth featuring the Fortify food community, wine and beer pairing demonstrations, and a dairy animal petting zoo featuring a cow, a calf, a goat, and a sheep. “It’s an evolution of the event — we’ve realized that cheese-lovers come in all shapes, sizes, and ages,” McChane says. McChane also hopes the event will help the newly established Minnesota Cheese Guild get on its feet. “There are a lot of opportunities to donate even small amounts to the Minnesota Cheesemakers’ Guild to help them achieve nonprofit status, which can be an expensive and time-consuming process,” she says. Heavy Table readers can take advantage of a special 25% discount on Minnesota Cheese Festival tickets. The Tap is the Heavy Table’s guide to area restaurant openings, closings, and other major events. The Tap is compiled and published biweekly by the Heavy Table. The Tap loves restaurant tips from readers, so we’re awarding a copy of “The Secret Atlas of North Coast Food” to the best tipster of July and August.